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BOARD STRUCTURE & GOVERNANCE MODEL

The College operates as a ministry of Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²ÊÍøÖ·´óÈ« Baptist Church and is a member of Christian Schools Australia (CSA), an association serving the Christian movement nationally and of the Association of Independent Schools of NSW (AIS).

The Board appoints a Chief Executive Officer (the Principal) who is charged with the day to day responsibilities of leadership and management of the College. The Board focuses its agenda on matters of company policy, sound financial oversight, providing guidance to the Principal about the future direction of the College and developing plans towards achieving the Core Purpose whilst maintaining our distinctiveness.

Board members bring varying gifts and talents to their role, seeking specific expertise and support if and when required. Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²ÊÍøÖ·´óÈ« Limited (the College Company) is a not-for-profit public company limited by guarantee with a Board of Directors elected by company members who are also members of Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²ÊÍøÖ·´óÈ« Baptist Church.

Our Chairman

David Bartlett

David has worked with hundreds of organisations across the schools and not-for-profit sectors globally in the areas of governance, leadership development and financial management. 

David has co-authored the book Community Governance (impacting more than 57 countries), authored a large number of published articles and developed international training curriculum in school and not for profit business management and governance. 

David has undertaken national and international consulting projects, is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia and has several tertiary business and training qualifications. He also is an experienced practitioner having held director, company secretary, CFO, chairman and public officer roles. David is a former parent of GPCC.

Deputy Chair

Lyndall Jones

Lyndall was raised on Sydney’s Northern Beaches but moved to Killcare in 2017, and has been worshipping at Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²ÊÍøÖ·´óÈ« Baptist Church since January 2021. Now retired, she remains active in mentoring and coaching, stemming from her own consulting and coaching business.

Lyndall holds a BA Dip Ed in early childhood education and has a diverse working and volunteer history. For years Lyndall volunteered with and served on the board for AFS International.  

Having worked at numerous corporate companies such as Westpac and the Institute of Chartered Accountants, Lyndall’s skills and expertise in Learning and Development, Human Resources, change management, and organisation and leadership development are a great asset to the Board.

Lyndall’s Christian faith has been her cornerstone throughout her working life, and she covers her decisions in prayer while also applying God-given skills to any situation. Lyndall enjoys golf, cooking and walking in God’s creation.

Our Board Members

Emeritus Professor Kevin Sproats

Kevin retired from the University of Western Sydney in 2010 where he had been Professor of Urban Planning and Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Campus Development).  Prior to his academic career, Kevin worked in the public and private sectors.  

Since retiring, Kevin and his wife Eira first spent six months each year as volunteers with Mobile Mission Maintenance, serving Christian ministries in outback Australia.  To better facilitate this commitment, in 2012 they moved into a retirement villa in Kincumber and joined Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²ÊÍøÖ·´óÈ« Baptist Church.  After being appointed as GPCC Ltd Board Chair, Kevin and Eira have focused their attention on Church volunteer work. Kevin brings experience in campus development and Board governance, having served on various NSW Government Boards and Commissions.

Rev Philip Blair (Senior Pastor of Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²ÊÍøÖ·´óÈ« Baptist Church)

Phil has been in pastoral ministry for over 18 years, having previously worked and studied in the areas of Management and Marketing for eight years.  This combination of experience enables Phil to have a good understanding of both the operational and pastoral aspects of the College.  

Phil received his Bachelor of Ministry from Morling Theological College in 2003 and has 

completed an MA (Theol) from Morling Theological College in 2022.

is currently undertaking a Master of Arts (Theology). He is married to Sharon and has two boys, Joshua and Owen in our Secondary School.

Celeste Shackleton

Celeste is the Business Process Improvement Executive for an Occupation Therapy firm that serves the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Community. Prior to this, she gained 5 years’ experience in Christian Education working at Northern Beaches Christian School in Marketing and Covenant Christian School in Alumni and Community. 

Celeste received her Master of Commerce in Corporate Communication in 2007 and is married with two children. She has been an active parent of Yanginanook School since 2018 and has served on the school’s board since 2020.

Celeste joins the Melos Foundation Board as the Yanginanook member school representative to continue to serve schools in Christian Education.

Ian Davie

Ian Davie has been involved in pastoral ministry for over 30 years in South Australia, Western Australia and New South Wales following a 11 year career in the farming industry in South Australia.
He is married to Maggie and has 3 adult children.
He has been the pastor of Moree Baptist Church for over 20 years and has also been actively involved on the board of the of Moree Christian School during that time. He was also a parent at the school for sixteen of those years.

OUR LEADERSHIP TEAM WHO ATTEND MEETINGS

Our Principal

Mr Phillip Nash

The Principal of Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²ÊÍøÖ·´óÈ«, Mr Phillip Nash, began working at GPCC in June 2019 following seven years in Indonesia as the Superintendent of a group of five private Indonesian schools (2,500 students), offering the Cambridge Examination and International Baccalaureate curricular.  Phillip has extensive training and experience as an educator, holding a Bachelor of Arts in History and English, a Diploma of Teaching and a Trained Teachers Certificate from Canterbury University in New Zealand.  He completed a Master of Education (Leadership) through Morling College, Sydney in 2013 and in April 2020 was accepted into a PhD program through Avondale University College. 

Phillip previously served in senior school leadership in New Zealand and Australia as well as more recently, in Indonesia.  He has been involved in Christian schools for 30 years, including Bethlehem College in New Zealand for 15 years where he was Principal and General Manager of the Christian Education Trust, which operated a large (1,600 pupil) K - 12 school, a small Tertiary Institute (300 students), five Pre-schools and an English Language School.  In Australia, he worked for three years at Christian Community Schools Ltd, the largest Christian School Association at the time and was Deputy Principal at Pacific Hills Christian School in Dural, Sydney.  He is married to Raema, who is a full-time quilter, and has three grown children and three grandchildren.

Our Company Secretary

Mr Michael Lowbridge

Mr Michael Lowbridge serves as both the Business Manager and Company Secretary to the Board. 

He first began working at Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²ÊÍøÖ·´óÈ« in 1996 for a period of nine years, then re-joined the College again in January 2018. As the Business Manager, Michael is responsible for leading and managing the Business Services Team at the College.  This involves responsibility for areas including Finance, Information Technology, Property and Grounds, Marketing and Enrolments, HR and Compliance. 

Michael’s previous roles as Science teacher, Head of Department and ICT Director in a number of schools, have provided the opportunity to develop a strong understanding of schools and their educational and operational requirements.

In addition to educational qualifications that include a Bachelor of Science, Graduate Diploma in Education and Master of Science Education, Michael also holds IT, Business and Governance qualifications. These include a Master of Networking and Systems Administration, a Master of Management (IT) and a Graduate Diploma in Applied Corporate Governance. Michael is a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Michael has diverse experience in business, education and information systems that spans 30 years in a variety of environments. In addition to his current role as Business Manager, he also acts as Company Secretary to the Board of the College.  He is passionate about good governance leading to informed and effective decision making that aligns with the organisation’s mission.